Just curious about what will work with what.
I have heard that a Crankset for a 10 speed will not work with a 9 speed rear. I cannot work out why there would be a problem.
Can somebody please enlighten me.

I have a 9 speed 105 rear with a Tiagra Crankset.
I want to match it up or even go Ultegra if the price is right.
Please shine some light on any traps for young players.

Just curious about what will work with what.I have heard that a Crankset for a 10 speed will not work with a 9 speed rear. I cannot work out why there would be a problem.Can somebody please enlighten me.

I have a 9 speed 105 rear with a Tiagra Crankset.I want to match it up or even go Ultegra if the price is right.Please shine some light on any traps for young players.

Cheers Team.

Marv, 9 speed wheels will fit 10 speed clusters with the aid of a spacer, but you may find that your shifters are not compatible with 10 speed.

I cant see why upgrading your crank and chainrings should be a problem, i know there is a difference in the chain thickness between 8's and 10's the 10 being a thinner chain, but even if the current chain is to thick its not such a big expense

Im happy to leave it 9 speed at the rear as the everything is spank'n new.
I was trying to guage if I could use a Crankset off a 10 speed set.
The reason being the groupset on my bike is made of entire 105 except the crankset (Tiagra)
The reason being the bike is constructed of new shop parts on a 4month old traded frame.
One great ride for a price I'd be silly to refuse

I was wondering so I could snap up a 105 (or Ultegra) Crankset if one appears cheap.
Personally I can't find a problem with the Tiagra but for small money I think matching the groupset will make sleeping easier

I suppose its just be a question of money vs need at the end of the day.
Two sayings sit at the back of my head,
"You cant always get what you want, you get what you need"
and "Dont fix what aint broke".

Factor vs Common sense.

Oh well.
I'm still stunned at how well she climbs.
Its a pity you can't upgrade legs'n'lungs.

Hi Marv!
the trick lies in the spec. of the chain. 10-speed chains are thinner than 9-speed ones, so the chain-rings on 10-speed cranks are thinner too. Your Tiagra shifters are 9-speed and there's not much you can do about that - other than replace them - and there's no real reason to do that.
But, there's nothing that should stop you putting 9-speed rings on 10-speed, external bearing cranks, and I know that a 10-speed derailleurs don't know what is 'upstream' from them. I run 9-speed Ultegra groupsets on two of my bikes. One is straight 9-speed (6500 series right through) and one is a mixture of 9- and 10-speed (6500 shifters, cranks and cassette / 6600 series derailleurs).
You will find 9-speed shifters (both 105 and Ultegra) on eBay from time to time. I am planning on trying the 10-speed crank / 9-speed chain-rings trick in the none-too distant future, as the bottom bracket on the girlie bike (she's in my avatar) is on its last legs.

Oops - you did say that, didn't you (he says after a quick re-read).
So, when are you going to try some 10-speed, external bearing cranks with 9-speed chain-rings? I don't know for sure, but the Tiagra cranks look very, very similar to 9-speed 105 ones.
Did you build the bike up yourself? On the surface, Tiagra components are the only 9-speed 'new stock' ones available. So, if some-one was trying to get a crank for an otherwise 105 groupset, that's what most shops would recommend. Well, those that didn't say "Sorry, you'll have to buy a 10-speed groupset" anyway.
ps. I've got a 172.5mm 9-speed 105 (Octalink / Hollowtech) crank in my spares box - it would need new chain rings though.

What you can also do is get Ultegra 9 speed cranksets (6500 Octalink series) very cheaply and these will accommodate 9 and 10 speed setups if you ever upgrade the gearing system that way. See www.cambriabike.com in the USA (postage might kill the good prices) or ebay.

I currently run this 9 speed crankset as part of a 105/Ultegra 10 speed setup and have had no problems although the lbs did alert me to the fact that there is a slight difference in the spacing between the chainrings in 9 and 10 speed series to accommodate the narrower 10 speed chain which normally doesn't present any problems.

If I correctly understand then I can just get a 105 or Ultegra crankset regardless of number of speed.
I can then install the 9 speed chainrings from the Tiagra cranks onto the update.

Hmmm, that leads us to BB questions?
Why isn't life just easy?

Anyway bigger problems in the world then my thoughts.

BTW - Took her out for a 45km ride today and was impressed.
Bums a bit sore but overall didnt cause any weird pains from not being a good fit.
Boy is that carbon a marvell at taking some vibration out of the road.
It has only carbon forks, seat ploe and upper rear stay but could really feel the difference over the same roads on my old bike with only carbon forks.
Tis a good thing.

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